TheDailyMeal.com: Foods Everybody Wants to Cook

1. Chicken Recipe

It's no surprise that chicken is the most searched recipe since it is so widely available today. Though free-range and organic chickens are more expensive because of their larger living space and lack of hormones and antibiotics, the average supermarket chicken comes at a reasonable price and, with the skin removed, is relatively healthy.

Chicken can be prepared in a variety of ways, which perhaps is one of the reasons for its popularity. Breaking down the 60,500 searches for chicken recipes, we found that the following recipes were among the highest searched: chicken salad, number 21 on this list (22,200), baked chicken (14,800), chicken pot pie (14,800), and fried chicken (12,100). One of our favorite ways is to prepare it with mushrooms, like in the recipe pictured above.

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TheDailyMeal.com found the recipes people search for most, from chicken breast to hummus.

In order to come up with the list, they tracked internet recipe searches over the past year with Google Analytics and other sources, considering both generic ingredient searches ("chicken recipes") and searches for specific dishes ("Rice Krispie treat recipes"). They ranked the results from highest to lowest, based on approximations of average monthly searches over a one-year period, rounded by their search tools. While these rankings offer a glimpse of only one brief period, they offer a lot of insight into the past, present, and future of American eating habits. Click Here For The Full Story from TheDailyMeal.com

Lasagna is a popular and comforting Italian-American dish that is baked in the oven with minimal involvement. Though the dish is traditionally made with layers of thick, wide noodles, a mixture of cheeses, and covered in a thick, tomato-based meat sauce, or with a healthy dose of bechamel, it can also be prepared in a variety of different ways, some lighter than others.

Opt out of using the pasta and instead replace it with strips of eggplant or zucchini, or fill the sauce with vegetables, a popular choice that gets around 1,900 searches annually (vegetable lasagna recipe). But if you want a meat-and-cheese-filled recipe, try the one pictured above.

With countless easy ways to prepare pork chops, it's no wonder that they are the ninth most popular recipe. They can be braised, grilled, breaded (Milanese-style), pan-cooked, or pan-roasted. Serve them simply with salt and pepper or experiment with a glaze or balsamic reduction like in therecipe pictured above. A side of potatoes or green salad never hurts either.

When shopping, look for meat that is pale pink with white (not yellow) fat and cook it within a few days of purchasing. For juicy and tender meat, the chops should be cooked until they have an internal temperature of about 150 to 165 degrees (any higher and they will be tough and chewy).

This no-bake dessert is a favorite at bake sales and a fun treat to prepare with kids at home. Made with Kelloggs Rice Krispies cereal, these crunchy squares are filled with sticky, marshmallow goodness. Kelloggs features theoriginal recipeon their site, but creative home cooks have experimented with adding peanut butter to the marshmallow mixture right after melting it for an even creamier treat.

Other secrets include a dash of salt and a touch of vanilla to take this dish to the next level. Want something spooky for Halloween? Try adding candy corns and chocolate chips to make an orange-and-black dessert. The possibilities are endless! But word to the wise, do not try using margarine or other low-fat substitutes in the recipe; it just won't be the same.

Though chicken is the number one most searched recipe, chicken breasts are not far behind with 40,500 searches and are a testament to America's love for this poultry meat. Leaner and healthier than dark meat, chicken breast is a great source of protein with a lower amount of cholesterol and saturated fat than other meats. Boneless chicken breasts make an easy weeknight dinner and can be baked, sautéed, stir-fried, grilled, broiled, or stuffed. Experiment with different seasonings, herbs, and aromatics so that dishes don't get repetitive. Marinades are also an excellent way of imparting flavor and can often be made the night before.

In what may or may not come as a surprise, it seems that chocolate chip cookies are Americans' favorite type of cookie. What's not to like about that rich, buttery scent wafting through the air from freshly baked cookies? And let's not even get started on the melting chocolate. Thoughthe perfect cookiemeans something different to each person, whether you fall on the crispy or chewy side, it seems that chocolate chip is a fan favorite.

After chocolate, the numbers slim down a bit to reveal sugar cookie recipe at approx. 14,800 searches and peanut butter cookie recipe and oatmeal cookie recipe both surfacing at approximately 12,100.

Chili con Carne, Spanish for ground meat with chili, originated in Texas in the early 19th century and is affectionately referred to as a bowl of red by Lone Star natives. Though Texans stand by the belief that beans have no place in the dish (neither do tomatoes), in other parts of the country, chili can be found filled with beans, made solely of beans (vegetarian or three-bean chili), tomato-based, or flavored with cinnamon (courtesy ofCincinnati chili), and made with ground turkey or chicken for a white chili.

The more popular types of chili that were searched? Breaking down chili recipe showed that chicken chili recipe (approx. 3,600), white chicken chili recipe (approx. 3,600), white chili recipe (approx. 3,600), turkey chili recipe (approx. 2,900), and vegetarian chili recipe (approx. 2,900) were the variations most searched for after chili recipe. For a quick dinner, we like to make the 15-Minute Beef Chili Recipe pictured above.

A classic comfort food, meatloaf gained popularity with home cooks because of its simplicity and low maintenance. Typically made with ground meat and a mixture of various seasonings like herbs, vegetables, or spices, meatloaf is bound with eggs or breadcrumbs, similar to meatballs, and then baked in a loaf pan. Alternatively, you can try cooking it in a rimmed baking sheet so that more of the surface browns.

Also, like meatballs, it's important not to overhandle the meat or it will toughen the final product. After cooking, run a knife around the edges to loosen it from the pan and let it stand for about 10 to 15 minutes so that the meat sets. For serving, it is often topped with a layer of ketchup, glaze, cheese, or sauce, and leftovers can also be used for sandwiches.

What to do with overripe bananas? Make banana bread of course. This comforting recipe comes in many forms: filled with nuts, chunks of bananas, chocolate chips, or healthier versions that are low-fat or gluten-free (pictured above). Making the perfect banana bread, one that's moist, light, and flavorful, can be a trying task, but once you find a recipe that hits the mark, you'll never look back.

Try toasting a slice and topping it with a thin (or thick) layer of butter for a quick and delicious breakfast or snack.

A thick, creamy, and delicious mash of chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, and oil, hummus is a popular and healthy alternative to chips and dip. Chickpeas are high in protein, making this legume and the Middle Eastern dish it's made into good for vegetarians. It may surprise many that when tahini, a sesame seed paste, is added to hummus, the name changes to hummus bi tahina. Some people are aware of this variation because out of the recipes searched for hummus, 1,300 were for "hummus recipe with tahini" and 590 were for "hummus recipe without tahini."

However you like to make your hummus, try serving it with homemade pita chips or cut vegetables and feel free to play around with variations at home, adding roasted red peppers, toasted pine nuts, or a coating of paprika to the recipe.

It's no surprise that chicken is the most searched recipe since it is so widely available today. Though free-range and organic chickens are more expensive because of their larger living space and lack of hormones and antibiotics, the average supermarket chicken comes at a reasonable price and, with the skin removed, is relatively healthy.

Chicken can be prepared in a variety of ways, which perhaps is one of the reasons for its popularity. Breaking down the 60,500 searches for chicken recipes, we found that the following recipes were among the highest searched: chicken salad, number 21 on this list (22,200), baked chicken (14,800), chicken pot pie (14,800), and fried chicken (12,100). One of our favorite ways is to prepare it with mushrooms, like in the recipe pictured above.